Nikon Inc. also confirmed via email that 'The Nikon 1 J5 and other Nikon 1 products are [still] available at select retailers in some regions.' As of publication of this article, Nikon still has the Nikon 1 J5, Nikon 1 V3 and Nikon 1 AW1 listed on its website and available for purchase. As for other retailers, B&H has all Nikon 1 J5 listings 'currently unavailable' and Adorama has both the Nikon 1 J5 and Nikon 1 V3 available for purchase, with the former being listed as a 'closeout.'

The move to kill off the Nikon 1 line shouldn't come as a surprise. The newest camera in the lineup was launched more than three years ago

The Nikon 1 series came to life on September 21, 2011, with the release of the Nikon 1 J1 and Nikon 1 V1 cameras. Since then, there have been 11 different cameras and 12 different lenses released for the Nikon 1 system, as well as a collection of accessories including flashes, cases, GPS units and more.

The move to kill off the Nikon 1 line shouldn't come as a surprise. In addition to the rumors flying around, the newest camera in the lineup was launched more than three years ago on April 2, 2015.

Add to that last year's statement from Tetsuro Goto, Director of Laboratory Research and Development at Nikon Japan, who told Chinese website Xitek, 'full frame is the trend [...] if Nikon will go mirrorless it must be full frame,' the writing has been on the wall for some time.

Comments

It just goes to show that no matter how much experience a company has in the camera industry (or any other industry, for that matter), there's always the potential for massive failure. As the saying goes, "Past performance is not indicative of future results."

Its always much easier to design and manufacture something, but much harder to predict what will sell, and then sell it. Nikon is an engineering company first and foremost. We know what skills they lack!

Certain Nikon 1 camera was able to do 60 fps burst shooting with RAW. Some people even made short RAW videos with it, but the cuts were a bit annoying because video changes every 2 seconds. Maybe something like 5 seconds could had offered budget friendly RAW video camera for short shots.

I've still got a soft spot for my old Nikon 1 J1. Lack of lenses was the thing that drove me away from the system, although I was happy enough with the 18.5mm f/1.8 for street shooting.

The J1 didn't get much use after I picked up a Panasonic GM1, but the Nikon got a new lease of life when it turned out to be a simple camera to convert to infrared (easily detached filters on the sensor and no shutter assembly to remove to get at it).

That was a fun project and the camera still gets some use (even though the IR novelty largely wore off after a while).

At the price the 1 cameras sold for, it should have been a premium system.But it was not.

At the size of the 1 cameras, they could have been equipped with larger sensors.But they were not.

Alternative 1 is still viable: A more premium approach, with faster lenses, at roughly the same prices, would have made this a huge seller. Think an RX100 with replaceable fast lenses, and just relatively few premium lenses, not 234345 variants of slow plasticky zooms. As it were, you could get a m4/3 camera or the APS-C-sensor Nex series, cameras with a quality feeling and larger sensors, in the same time frame at lower prices at the same camera size. OR a premium compact with a faster lens and the same size sensor at the same size.

Well, maybee Sony didn't want Nikon to use their 1" BSI stacked sensor. Or disclose the sensor roadmap. After the success with the Rx series and A7, the camera development department has probably advanced in ranks in the Sony universe.

Got my N1J4 with 10-30mm lens for around $399 about a year ago and I've been very happy with it. The only big drawback for me was the lack of EVF. Those loupe gadgets that you stick on the screen do not cut it IMHO.

I could consider buying one used for pennies, just for curiosity (currently feeling good with another brand, but have no prejudices)Trouble is eBay listing will probably change from "lightly used 1-series camera" to "RARE!!!1!!1! UNOBTAINABLE!11!1!! Nikon 1-Series Camera!" overnight, and prices will rise instead of decreasing :-/

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I hope everyone notices that Sony didn't abandon their legacy system (A mount) but continue to support it by releasing the excellent 99II. The E mount is obviously the future and where the profits lay.

I had the lap3 adapter on my a7, went to the store and tried a few a mount lenses. Quite a few lenses didn't even AF, other were too slow. lap3 was later sold, lap4 was the one with the slt built in, so it af better, but that was like using an a mount camera anyways.

Well I use my Canon EF lenses on the A7RII via a Metabones adapter. I think with the newer Phase Contrast sensors it should be possible to get good AF with A mount lenses without needing the beam splitter system. I can't say if that old adapter would work better now or if they need an improved one. Metabones has made several CF to E adapters over the years and also has firmware upgrades.

Besides I am not talking about it being better than an SLT camera... but simply a way to keep using the lenses if the A mount system is retired. Heck I am now using old Canon FD and Nikon lenses on my Sony too.

exactly,, after the success of the nex 7 , the legacy of Nikon s and Leica m, the success of the sony rx100, the Panny corner EVF ,. the fuji x100 series et al... the excitement of the new pen f !

somehow the suits at Nikon decided that a corner evf was verboten and never to be. no matter the trends happening or submarkets in the consumer space .. and the one system is dead for their cluelessness .... they remind me of canon

at times like these the moniker of canikon is one i can see the point of

canons absurd evfs in their non dslr cameras look like strange genetic mistakes rather than the evolution of the cameras , nikon too

the pseudo prism hump and form of canikon 1 inch cameras is simply awful, nikons were horribly ugly and senseless toougly and insensible .... truly indicative of some corporate brain block or injury, or deeply embedded inflexibility toward change or consumer desire.

Canon's M Line EVFs are more than excellent. Looking through the M5, M50 EVFs they're one of the cleanest. They're definitely within competiton. Only topped off by the new A7rIII, XT2, and the Leica S. I sure look forward to the Canon FF EVF, if it'll be A7 league? a7rIII? XT2? Leica? We'll see

Yep. It's impossible to hold a camera as steady with just your two hands. An EVF is a necessity for maximum stability. Not just for the extra stability of it pressed against your face, but also because you can see through the finder just how steady you are being.

In my experience I can go to lower shutter speed with a mirrorless with the strap held taut than with a DSLR held against my eye: the lack of mirror slap makes up for the purported minor stability - which BTW I'm not sure about.

"I thought so as well, but I changed my mind after trying. In my experience I can go to lower shutter speed with a mirrorless with the strap held taut than with a DSLR held against my eye: the lack of mirror slap makes up for the purported minor stability - which BTW I'm not sure about."

No mirrors in the cameras being discussed. Without even getting into the stability aspect, I don’t hang compact cameras around my neck and rear displays are essentially useless in bright light.

Lack of an EVF was likely due to corporate schizophrenia: Yes, we want a share of the profits from small, high-IQ mirrorless cameras; but no, we DON'T want to lose any DSLR sales. So, what to do? Well, we design these as high-IQ snapshooter cameras -- dumb down the mode dial, no standard accessory shoe, only sell a proprietary mini flash. And, for some, no EVF! Let those who want full features buy our DSLRs.

As if those people couldn't buy an Olympus or Panasonic MILC with a less-costly add-on or built-in EVF (back then) AND a standard accessory shoe and controls.

Nikon did create some really good 1 system cameras, even with their quirks and limitations. Lack of EVF, except the more-expensive V's, coupled with brutally high MSRP's which, for the V2 and V3 never seemed to come down much, proved off putting for too many amateurs and smartphone snapshooters who could get more bang for the buck elsewhere.

@PhilDunn taking the mirror out of the equation I think the rate of keepers would be about the same - but you'd need a neck strap for "my" method (not actually mine of course)... unsure how it's gonna play out with a leather slingshot-type belt... no dice with a hand strap of course.

LCD loupes are effective and nice to use with manual focus lenses, but I have to concede that are bulky as hell...

@LensBeginner - I used to accept the conventional wisdom of holding the camera to my eye for stability. More recently I've tried doing the same thing as you -- holding it at chest height with the neck strap taut -- and like you I've found that I can hold it steady at slower shutter speeds that way.

When using my Panasonic 100-400mm at 400mm, I've gone from needing at least 1/100s for sharp images, to using 1/30s-1/40s when shooting still subjects.

Tilting the screen horizontal and holding it close usually shades it from glare too, further reducing the need for an EVF. For me an EVF has gone from an essential feature so something that's occasionally useful and merely quite nice to have.

Reminds me of Apple with a number of their products that they actually abandoned years prior to the actual announcement. I suspect the two minis will end up getting the same treatment, the iPad mini and the Mac mini. A real shame because I absolutely love the size of my iPad mini 4.

WTH?! Just when 1" cameras started taking off massively?! These Nikons could serve a strong component to the RX100 series, X100, with great interchanegable glass, fast primes, third party, your choice an incredible S16 4K camera. It will Sell. Make profit. Don't shut it down just because you still haven't perfected the components together, especially when you're that close!

Who could make such a decision?! I don't think anybody but a non-camera-expert reading a financial report saying: Hey these 1 series thing isn't making money, just shut it down. Ok sir.

The system was mismanaged from the start tho, it had a very clear edge over other mounts/systems with OSPDAF that was ahead of the curve and they squandered by catering to the wrong markets and positioning the entire lineup rather poorly. As paltry an effort as EF-M has been, even that seemed better focused than the 1.

How could they not care about making us want their cameras?! Such arrogance if it really all comes down to them knowing yet not caring just because they're currently selling. That's a very short-sighted business model!

I love my N1 system. I understand from marketing perspective it is a niche-within-a-niche offering, so it’s hard for Nikon to make money of it. Hence the unfortunate decision to disconinue N1. Like many others, I was critical of this system from the beginning, mostly due to bad publicity. But once I did my own research I was able to understand how inaccurate that opinion was and never regretted my decision to add this system to my arsenal. Every system is a trade-off, including N1. But only when you know what you need, you may say whether it is a good or bad system for you. Otherwise you are just generalizing with very little logic...

cosinaphile, I agree with every sentence. It is hard to understand Nikon when it comes to their strategy in small sensor segment. It's as if they deliberately want to fail. Very, very.... very frustrating strategy. I am sure many Nikon owners would agree.

its good to see nikon admitting this decision to their users , especially those who bought the nikon one cameras

for those following things outside of "official" news the reality of this was known at least a year ago ,

the sad takeaway from this is nikon who were pioneers of 1 inch serious cameras and with the nikon name and legacy were unable to get sales of this system

the truth is nikon early bodies of one camera were an insult to the user so dumbed down and idiot centric they turned off anyone with a brain off immidiately

this cluelessness continued for the entire history of the series ... sony whatever the problems they had with their highly sucessful 1 inch cameras , never made one that insulted the intellect while nikon was making controls and features for morons

Pity. With J5 and V3 they finally made bodies that I would like to buy. But bodies were never followed with lenses I would buy (except few primes, when the system was already dying). They made more different bodies and colors of Nikon 1 system, than they made lenses for them. Nikon was just making experiments through cameras of that system, and buyers were guinea pigs, never treated with deserved respect. Somehow, same story as with EOS-M: evolution of bodies, not so happily followed by lens system. Fortunately, for EOS-M mount there are lot of third party choices, and even more via adapters. But again, disrespect of customers. Sony was also going that way (great bodies and poor lens system), but recently they started to fill the system with lenses of their own (Zeiss including).All compliment to Fujifilm: even before they started with production of X- cameras, they listened what photographers like, and had a good lens road map. Hat down.

It’s next, but it will take few years to reach that point among users and then few additional years until Nikon officially admits the fact. As soon as Nikon announces their new mirrorless-mount, the countdown for F-mount demise will begin. It’s inevitable.

I love my Pentax Q7, and it remains my most-used camera. There's nothing else quite like it. I think you'll find one reason the Q series has a cult following is because the controls and firmware features are very similar to a Pentax DSLR. They never dumbed it down.

Nikon _did_ say they all of the currently known Nikon 1 _products_ are out of production.

Nikon did _not_ say they the Nikon 1 _system_ is finished.

Do you see the nuance? While its highly unlikely we will see any new Nikon 1 products in the future, Nikon keeps that as a theoretical possibility. The downward trend _may_ turn and Nikon _may_ revive that system.

I thought this announcement was made 2+ years ago when they stopped with the J5....? After the J5 became a little "stale" (as in Nikon didn't release an updated versions after that) I always sort of considered the Nikon 1 a dead system.

Yep. And many (sports photographers, the local photo club) haven't significantly realized there's something else than Canon and Nikon yet. Well, the former just Canon, since I close to never see even a Nikon camera at a sideline, the latter sometimes Canon sometimes Nikon. Brand loyalty and recognition counts for a whole lot in the digital camera and lens business but it still isn't a free pass for Nikon and Canon to screw up royally. I don't think they will.

I doubt they've seen any light. They just don't think their customers are smart enough to discern between two lines of mirrorless cameras. Too bad there are still so many N1s available new and used out there.

Yes. The initial problem with Nikon's new mirrorless strategy will be price. Not everyone wants an FX pro camera costing thousands of dollars. Surely as their mirrorless system matures there will be a need for different price points, and sensor size will likely always be a significant price determinant. But the other trend, I guess, is versatile fixed lenses rather than lens systems. Maybe its the DLs that are waiting in the wings??Nikon has been a one-trick pony for a while, e.g. the long wait for the D500 while they sorted their FX SLRs, and the apparent neglect of N1 while they worked on their FX mirrorless. Reasonable to accept that a smaller company can't sustain parallel major development efforts.We'll see what the future holds. Meanwhile, as a wildlife photographer, I find my V2 with FT-1 a very useful part of my travelling kit.

I actually saw a guy in Tokyo this spring with THREE Pentax Q's around his neck, just walking around taking pictures of everything and enjoying life. I had never seen one in the wild and I just thought it was funny that the first ones I saw were on maybe the biggest Pentax Q fan ever.

I am surprised that it is still around - never heard about it again since the introduction of the system. It was a bad idea from the beginning IMHO. Small sensor in a big body and only a handful extremely slow lenses. Designed to be stuck on retailers shelfs...

I had one or two posts in a thread removed in the early days of the Nikon 1 Forum. Someone called me a troll. Fair enough, I probably was a troll. I was mocking a system I believed was a half-hearted attempt at mirrorless that was doomed to fail. The pink-body Nikon 1 languishing at the local Target store, collecting dust, was another clue Nikon didn't execute properly 😉

If we consider the rumored upcoming Nikon PRO mirrorless system, it is making sense for them to officially discontinue the unsuccessful Nikon 1 system.It was practically discontinued anyway.It would have just cast a shadow on the new system, which I suppose will be well thought.Good luck with the new systems to Nikon and Canon!

Too bad ... I think the 1" sensor design could have competed with u4/3 if Nikon threw more strength behind the development of the sensor and lenses. Granted, u4/3 had a huge head-start in this regard. I think Nikon could have come out with thrusters firing at 110% and won some market share.

Now Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic, and Sony own the mirrorless market. Nikon and Canon will have to do something extraordinary to wiggle in. They probably won't get too many converts if someone is one of those ecosystems already but they can get newcomers. Me, personally? I'm 100% in bed with u4/3 and it would be almost impossible for me to switch.

I thought they had some interesting tech and there was definitely potential with the system.

But what kept me from ever buying Nikon 1 was that they were behind in 1-inch sensor tech with most of their cameras, they had some questionable pricing (V3 was grossly overpriced) and I never felt a prestigious camera company such as Nikon was really giving their support to this system, to the point that failure was a foregone conclusion.

A 1" ILC system, like the Nikon 1 system, could be brilliant. However, no matter how great it could be, if it is not perceived as such by those who might buy it, it will amount to nothing, which is a shame.

To be honest, I don't know why the Nikon 1 system failed (or why the Samsung NX system failed, for that matter). It may have been an idea before its time, not priced competitively, stigmatized by the perception that its smaller sensor made it an overpriced toy, or whatever.

The Nikon 1 system (and NX system) will be forgotten in the same way as the Tucker Torpedo and countless other great ideas/products that never succeeded for this reason or that.

They aimed at a market that might or might not have been there in 2009 when they conceived and launched the project, but which wasn't big enough to support the business after sales began. Maybe it was never really there; maybe it shrank as phones encroached ever higher on the photo market tiers.

If the early models would have had better sensors, the system would perhaps have had a chance. Things having been as they were, the later models just weren't taken seriously anymore, even though their sensors had become somewhat decent.

But even though the small sensor generally hampered reuse of SLR lenses, the system did have some very interesting aspects, like its completely phase-detection based AF, making it a potentially great system for telephoto applications, especially with existing SLR lenses.

If and when they come out with a new full-frame mirrorless system, supertele will not be its speciality.

Interesting to see just how much lenses make a difference. Sony's RX100 series is only now with the version 5/6 getting the same capabilities as the 1 system, and are even more expensive than the 1 system, but that built-in lens makes all the difference to the consumer.

The 1-series was a great system in theory, just way ahead of it's time, too niche, and with not nearly enough lens support.

The original RX100 was a slow camera with no phase-detect autofocus. They were completely different classes of camera even ignoring the interchangable vs. fixed lens. The 1-series was the speed demon for action and shot-to-shot responsiveness. By the time the Sony's got competitive autofocus and performance (versions 5 & 6) they were at least as expensive as the 1-series. The market never seemed to have much of a problem with the Sony pricing, yet the 1-series was always accused of being overpriced. Funny what a difference it makes being a P&S versus an interchangeable lens system. I wonder if things would have been different if Nikon invested in the lens side of things, which was it's biggest downfall.

@Dualsystemguy - And yet here we are - the RX100 is on its sixth iteration. And going strong even at such high prices.

People sometimes think a single specs alone can make a product successful.

'People also think that is marketing alone that made the RX100 successful.

The truth is somewhere in-between and not entirely in that too. The reason that the RX100 made it is because it fulfilled a need and did it well. The N1 didn't. Beyond our parochial concerns and praises, a product will not last if majority of the people don't agree with your position. The wallet is the only vote that sustains a product, not opinions or our personal preferences.

It is a bummer, it was a nice little system. As much as I disliked the V1, with it and the 30-110 I got some bird shots that were impossible with a system of this size at the time.

A system like that would still have potential today if the pricing and abilities were right. Yes people just use cellphones these days but it's a race to the bottom. You simply can't get certain (lots of) shots with a fixed-lens camera.

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